How I used the document camera during curriculum instruction: We made an ABC book about Egypt. Each student was assigned a letter of the alphabet and was required to research and write about something about ancient Egypt. They were also required to do an illustration. When everyone was finished, we shared them using the document camera. These pages were compiled into a book.
My in-depth reflection, discussing future plans as to how I hope to incorporate what I've have learned in this program: I will continue to use my blogspot to communicate with parents and students. I will post announcements on my wikispace and have linked my blog to it. I'm so excited to share what we've learned with my teammates! I will also use many of the things we learned directly with my students. I will use the cameras and programs like iphoto and imovie and garageband to create multimedia presentations. I am also so excited to learn how to use and create podcasts...that's my next goal!
DAY ONE - Today we learned a lot about wikispaces. I am so excited to set one up for my class web page. I think it's so cool that multiple pages can be added. I also think it's cool that it's private, so parents won't freak about their child's work displayed.
DAY TWO - Today we learned a lot about Atomic Learning, Inspiration, and more about Wikispaces. The AL site is great! I often need a place to go for tutorials, and this is fabulous!
DAY THREE - Wow! My brain is about full! We learned to create delicious accounts, gmail accounts and add friends to both. I loved looking at sites and the videos from emedia. I am learning so much - thank you!
DAY FOUR - I have learned so much in these four days! We are in for a great technological year at Draper Elementary!
Spring Reflections:
DOCUMENT CAMERA - I love my document camera! I use it daily. I enjoy using it especially in math. It is so helpful when discussing student work. I also used it once when I had a sub to make a movie about how scientific notation works. It was really cool - the sub appreciated that she didn't have to teach the content that day. I am currently researching how to attach the document camera to my microscope. I think I just have to order a special adapter. I think this will make teaching about microbiology awesome!
STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEM - My students enjoy using the clickers. We have been using them to review for end of the year testing. I will say, however, that it took a lot of time to set up our tests. Is there a way to copy and past things (like UTIPS tests) on to the tests? We were lucky enough to have student teachers, so as a team, we worked for hours creating science and math tests to use for review. Other than that, the clickers have been great! It's very motivating for the students, and much more helpful to me than a regular (low-tech) review. I like it because I can get immediate feedback about who knows what.
**OVERALL GOALS FOR ENGAGED CLASSROOM - I was thinking the other day, that I will never be able to move to another school or district, because my teaching has changed so much with the use of technology. I am using technology daily now, and my classroom is so much richer for it! I don't know how I would make my curriculum exciting without the use of the technology tools I've become accustomed to. Thank you for allowing me to participate in this program. I am a better teacher because of all I've learned about technology. I've been frustrated at times, but over all, it was a positive experience and well worth it!
Engaged Classroom Participant Portfolio
This portfolio has been created in connection with the Jordan School District Enhanced Classroom professional development project.
Participant Name: Amy Valdez
Participant School: Draper Elementary
Grade/Subject: Sixth Grade
Below are links to pages that demonstrate my competence in several key areas.
Inspiration Software
Atomic Learning Modules
Comic Life,Picasa, Comic Life Project
• Example of Comic Life Page
Social Bookmarking
- Link to my del.icio.us (or Diigo) user profile page
http://delicious.com/amy.valdez- Link to a wiki page with RSS widget showing some of my curriculum-related websites
http://feeds.delicious.com/v2/rss/amy.valdezMyUEN
http://my.uen.org/myuen/102404
Link to my Web Page
http://schools.jordandistrict.org/draper/facultystaff.html
Google Docs
- Link to one of my published Google Docs
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id= ddk2mp3_0gkzwrxdz&invite= f5nxbg4Blogging
- Link to my blog
http://winnersbelongtogether.blogspot.comDigital Story Telling
Lesson Plans I've Created
My Reflections
DAY THREE - Wow! My brain is about full! We learned to create delicious accounts, gmail accounts and add friends to both. I loved looking at sites and the videos from emedia. I am learning so much - thank you!
DAY FOUR - I have learned so much in these four days! We are in for a great technological year at Draper Elementary!
Spring Reflections:
DOCUMENT CAMERA - I love my document camera! I use it daily. I enjoy using it especially in math. It is so helpful when discussing student work. I also used it once when I had a sub to make a movie about how scientific notation works. It was really cool - the sub appreciated that she didn't have to teach the content that day. I am currently researching how to attach the document camera to my microscope. I think I just have to order a special adapter. I think this will make teaching about microbiology awesome!
STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEM - My students enjoy using the clickers. We have been using them to review for end of the year testing. I will say, however, that it took a lot of time to set up our tests. Is there a way to copy and past things (like UTIPS tests) on to the tests? We were lucky enough to have student teachers, so as a team, we worked for hours creating science and math tests to use for review. Other than that, the clickers have been great! It's very motivating for the students, and much more helpful to me than a regular (low-tech) review. I like it because I can get immediate feedback about who knows what.
**OVERALL GOALS FOR ENGAGED CLASSROOM - I was thinking the other day, that I will never be able to move to another school or district, because my teaching has changed so much with the use of technology. I am using technology daily now, and my classroom is so much richer for it! I don't know how I would make my curriculum exciting without the use of the technology tools I've become accustomed to. Thank you for allowing me to participate in this program. I am a better teacher because of all I've learned about technology. I've been frustrated at times, but over all, it was a positive experience and well worth it!